Security forces in Iran have arrested hundreds of protestors since the spread of nationwide protests against the government’s killing of Mahsa Amini.
There is still no accurate information about the fate, place of detention, and charges against many of the detainees.
The families of the detainees are under severe pressure from the authorities and are asked to refrain from all contact with the media.
According to a report by the Iran Prison Atlas (IPA), on Monday, September 26, the families of many of the arrested protestors recently visited the Security Prosecutor’s Office in Evin prison to get information on the situation of their loved ones in prison.
Iran Prison Atlas (IPA) is a database of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Iran, created and administered by the non-profit organization United for Iran.
According to this report, the prison authorities did not allow families to enter the prosecutor’s office on Monday, including those who were told they would be released on bail.
Additional reports and news gathered by IPA, state that the Tehran’s judicial and security authorities are buying time by promising freedom and, simultaneously, postponing the detainees’ release. It appears that this strategy grants officials the possibility to forward the scenario of fabricating cases for the detainees.
Iran Prison Atlas wrote:
“Most of the detainees of the recent protests are kept in detention centers full of prisoners much more than their capacity, in violation of Article 32 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran; these detainees are being kept without legal procedures and being formally charged.”
The exact number of detainees is currently unavailable.
However, according to the early estimates of the Iran Prison Atlas, “several thousand people” are kept in two prisons, Evin and Tehran Central Prison (Fashafouyeh).
“In Rasht, reports indicate that nearly 100 people, including 70 men and 30 women, are under temporary detention in Lakan prison. At least 200 people have been arrested in the Kurdish areas. Atlas has received news that in Mahabad, security agents are visiting houses to arrest people who participated in the demonstrations in the previous days. There are also reports of mass arrests in Mazandaran,” the IPA report added.
Security forces have also arrested 146 political and social activists as well as journalists. These journalists and activists were not detained during the demonstrations, but (they) “went to their homes without a warrant and arrested them systematically.”
Attorney-General of Iran, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, sent a circular to the general and revolutionary prosecutors of the country about how to handle the cases of those accused of the recent events.
According to this circular, the “leaders of the recent events” should be detained until the court is held, and the prosecutors should seek “severe punishment” for them.
In the case of detained students, a decision must be made with the opinion of security and the university dean. Students who have played a role in disrupting “public security” will remain in temporary detention, while other students will be released on bail.
At the same time, massive arrests of protesting activists and citizens continue in Kurdish cities.
Kurdistan Human Rights Network – a France-based Human rights organization, has reported that hundreds of activists and citizens protesting the murder of Mahsa Amini have been arrested in Kurdish area cities and villages by military and security forces.
Kurdistan Human Rights Network, citing at least two sources in each city, estimates that more than 675 people have been arrested, including at least 18 children among them.
“Among these detainees, at least 180 people are injured due to torture during arrest or being shot by bullets or pellet,” The Human Rights group added.
The protests against the government’s murder of Mahsa Amini started on Friday, September 16. Protests began to take shape just after the medical team at Tehran’s Kasra hospital pronounced Mahsa dead. This continued after Mahsa’s funeral in her hometown of Saqqez, where mourners organized a peaceful rally outside the city’s governor’s office. Security forces outside the office responded to protestors with tear gas and opened fire. Since then, protests have been widespread in nearly all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
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